IC Resource Thread

TIMELINE:

2770 TA - The Wyrm, Smaug, flies down from the north and takes the Lonely Mountain, driving out the dwarves under King Thror (Durin's Folk), and ravaging the Dale.

During these years, orcs are active in the north Misty Mountains, striking largely at regions of Eriador.

2790 TA - King Thror, of the dwarves, killed in Moria, the War of Dwarves and Orcs begins.

2799 TA - The War of Dwarves and Orcs ends at the Battle of Azanulbizar, with the death of orcish chieftain, Azog.

2800 TA - Orcs of the Misty Mountains invade Rohan, and are repelled.

Orcs establish themselves in the White Mountains, of Gondor.

2845 TA - King Thrain II, of the dwarves, disappears while traveling near Mirkwood.

2851 TA - King Falca, of Rohan, slain by orcs. The White Tree of Gondor, in Mina's Tirith, dies.

2864 TA - King Folca, of Rohan, clears his kingdom of orcs.

2885 TA - The Harradrim invade Gondor from the south, and control of South Gondor is lost and largely abandoned by the men of the north.

2901 TA - Ithilien, and most of the Anduin valley between Mordor and Gondor, is abandoned under pressure from orcish hordes from the east.

2911 TA - The Fell Winter devastates Eriador and the Rhovanion, includes an attack on the Shire by great wolves.

2933 TA - The last of the Dunedain, or 'Rangers of the North', are said to have been killed off in Rhudaur, battling orcs.

2941 TA - The Wyrm, Smaug, is killed by Bard the Bowman in Lake-town, but not before the city was all but destroyed.

The Battle of the Five Armies ends in the defeat of the orcish horde in the Wilderlands and restores the Kingdom Under the Mountain.

WE BEGIN, IN GONDOR:

It is Spring in the year 2942 of the Third Age.News has just reached Gondor of the slaying of the dragon Smaug, in the North. And the return of Durin's Folk to the mountain Erebor.

Meanwhile, Gondor is a nation that is trying to pick itself up after having hit rock bottom.

The orcish hordes in the White Mountains are strong but largely silent, only periodically raiding towns and villages of Gondor's northern provinces. The Anduin Valley to the east has been abandoned by Gondor to the dark forces stirring in Mordor, and while it has become a no-man's land, there have been no major conflicts since the territory was lost. And it is a time of relative peace amongst mankind - Gondor and the Southrons - but the Harradrim and Corsairs of Umbar do remain an ever present pressure from the south.

Ruling Steward Turgon, shadowed by his son Ecthelion, and grandson Denethor, has benefitted from a period of relative quiet for a couple decades now, and the peoples of Gondor are hopeful, and trying to take advantage of this time of calm.

There is a slowly growing prosperity, but also growing uncertainty... one thing is certain though, it is an exciting time to be alive in the great and ancient kingdom of Gondor.

For better or worse...

IMPORTANT PEOPLE:


24th Ruling Steward of Gondor, Turgon, son of Turin II, House of Hurin
- son, Ecthelion II
> grandson, Denethor II


Lady Blackridge - a woman of Gondor, she is a former scholar, historian, and archivist, who, due to her specialist studies regarding the Harad, eventually became the official Gondorian diplomat to the Harad. Unbeknownst to her family and nation, she is also seeking the Osgiliath palantir stone. Her children were abducted in an attempt to extort her knowledge of the Master Stone by an enemy known as Astalor the Collector. The Company however managed to rescue her children and, perhaps unknowingly, thwarted the extortion attempt.

IMPORTANT PLACES:


Minas Tirith - the capital city of Gondor. With roots that stretch back in time for more than 3,000 years, this fortress-turned-city is one of the greatest population centers in all the world. Originally built my the Numenoreans who first settled upon Middle-earth, Minas Tirith has stood as a bastion for mankind, and against evil, for as long as there have been Free Peoples.


Pelargir - is a great port city on the river Anduin, and the main harbour of Gondor. It also the south-most great city of Gondor before the northern border of the Southrons. At times, it has been THE border, for over the centuries the lands of south Gondor have swung back and forth from Gondorian to Southron control. As a harbor and border city it is a great regional center of trade. And due to it's position and history, it is a diverse and multi-cultural city, featuring centers for the arts, and learning, and the potential for great opportunity and adventure for those brave and capable enough.


Osgiliath - the former capital city of Gondor. Osgiliath suffered a series of raids and sackings, beginning with the Kin-strife wars, which eventually lead to it's complete abandonment. And when Minas Ithil was lost to the Witch King, and became Minas Morgul, all of the principality of Ithilien, along with the eastern half of Osgiliath was lost to the forces of orcs and goblins which had taken up residence in Mordor.

IMPORTANT THINGS:


The Osgiliath Stone - The palantíri were enchanted seeing stones, created by an ancient king of the elves - real magical relics from Ages Long Past. Before there were Men, and the world was young. Seven were given to the Men of Numenor, after the Fall of Numenor to the Shadow. The stones could be used to communicate with one another over any distance that separated them, and could also be used to see across the face of the world - like a telescope that wasn't hindered by the horizon. Only people of great will or power could use the Stones. Generally, no one knows about the existence of palantiri, other than perhaps as something fabled in myth or legend, outside of Kings and their closest advisors. The Osgiliath "master" stone was the most powerful of the seven stones given to Numenor.

Map of South Gondor and the Harad


Map of Osgiliath